Health visitor

As a health visitor, you'll support children up to the age of five and their families, helping to give them the best start in life. This includes identifying health or developmental needs early, promoting health and wellbeing, and reducing health inequalities.

You'll work closely with parents and carers, offering guidance and practical advice on areas such as child development, nutrition and immunisation. You'll also play an important role in safeguarding children, as health visitors are often among the first to recognise when a child or family may need additional support. In these instances, you'll work with other health and social care professionals to put the right interventions in place.

You can meet with families in their homes, clinics or in a community setting, and will liaise with other professionals such as nurses, GPs, midwives, social workers and childcare providers. Some roles focus on supporting vulnerable or marginalised groups, such as families experiencing homelessness, addiction or social exclusion.

Responsibilities

Health visitors plan, lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme (HCP), working with children and families from pregnancy through to age five to promote wellbeing and ensure any additional needs are identified early.

The role varies depending on your employer and location, and you may have responsibility for a specific geographical area, community group or specialist caseload.

As a health visitor, you'll typically need to:

• make antenatal contact with families during pregnancy, offering information and reassurance in preparation for parenthood
• advise and support parents on issues such as infant feeding (including breastfeeding and weaning), sleep, home safety, minor illnesses, accident prevention, physical and emotional development, immunisation, and other aspects of early years care
• provide ongoing support from late pregnancy through to a child's fifth birthday, acting as a gateway to other health, social care and early years services where needed
• carry out regular health and development reviews, including one at two years old, to assess children's growth, speech, language and communication skills, and identify any additional needs or required support
• offer guidance on children's weight, nutrition and oral health, as well as mental wellbeing for both children and parents or carers
• identify risk factors or safeguarding concerns and work with other agencies to protect children and ensure families receive the right support
• organise and facilitate child health clinics and community groups, such as baby massage, early play or parenting support sessions, which may take place in GP surgeries, family hubs, community centres or schools
• support families experiencing greater vulnerability, including those affected by domestic abuse, substance misuse, homelessness or social isolation
• support public health and early intervention initiatives, for example improving immunisation uptake and reducing health inequalities
• maintain accurate, confidential digital records and contribute to data collection, evaluation and reporting to support service planning.

Salary

• If you work in the NHS, you'll be paid according to the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scale. Health visitors typically start on Band 6, with salaries ranging from £38,682 to £46,580.
• Team managers or specialist health visitors may earn up to £54,710 (Band 7).
• Salaries outside the NHS, for example within local authorities, private healthcare, charities or community interest companies, can vary depending on the employer and location.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll usually work around 37.5 hours a week, typically during standard office hours. However, some evening or occasional weekend work may be required for clinics, drop-in sessions or community support groups. If you're involved in project or development work, your hours may vary to meet service needs.

Flexible working arrangements are often available, and some health visitors choose to take on bank or part-time work.

What to expect

• You'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team alongside nurses, midwives, social workers, early years practitioners and other health and social care professionals.
• You'll travel locally to carry out home visits and attend clinics, drop-ins or support groups in community settings such as GP surgeries, family hubs and children's centres.
• Jobs are available throughout the UK.
• There is no set uniform, but you'll usually be expected to dress smartly and appropriately for working with families and young children, with clothing suitable for home and community visits.
• The role can be emotionally demanding, particularly when working with families experiencing complex needs or safeguarding concerns, and you'll need resilience and strong professional boundaries.

Qualifications

To become a health visitor, you must be a registered nurse (adult, children's, learning disability or mental health) or a registered midwife.

You'll then need to complete a post-registration Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Health Visiting (SCPHN-HV) programme approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Courses are offered at postgraduate level (either a postgraduate diploma or Masters) and usually take one year to complete full time or two to three years part time. Some universities also offer a Masters-level apprenticeship route.

Search for an approved SCPHN-HV course.

You'll need to secure a secondment or fixed-term training contract with a healthcare provider, such as an NHS trust or community health service, as part of your university application. This organisation will provide your clinical placement and practice supervisor. Training opportunities are usually advertised on NHS Jobs.

Generally, half of the course involves academic study at university, with the remaining time spent on practice placements, where you'll gain supervised experience working with families.

Before starting the course, you must complete an enhanced criminal records check and occupational health clearance.

Find out more about qualifying as an adult nurse, children's nurse, learning disability nurse, mental health nurse or midwife.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• an approachable and empathetic manner, with the ability to build trust and rapport with people from a range of backgrounds
• excellent communication, questioning and listening skills, and the ability to interpret body language and other non-verbal cues
• patience, sensitivity and tact when dealing with families and young children
• the confidence to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise a varied workload
• the ability to motivate and influence people to make positive lifestyle and behavioural changes
• emotional resilience to manage distressing situations and safeguarding concerns
• an interest in public health and social issues, and in developing initiatives that promote health and wellbeing
• a willingness to take responsibility and make sound professional judgements when required.

Work experience

As you need to be a registered nurse or midwife to become a health visitor, you'll already have considerable professional experience and knowledge from your training and previous roles.

However, any additional experience that shows your commitment to working in the community, supporting families or promoting public health will strengthen your application for health visitor training.

This could include shadowing a health visitor or community nursing team, or gaining experience with children, families or vulnerable groups in a healthcare, education or voluntary setting.

You might also consider becoming a student member of the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) to get access to professional resources, news updates and networking opportunities.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Health visitors are mainly employed by the NHS, working in settings such as GP surgeries, family hubs, community health centres and patients' homes. Some roles are available with local authorities or social enterprises delivering public health services. In some areas, you can work as a 'bank' health visitor providing cover for vacancies.

With experience, you may move into education, teaching student health visitors or other healthcare professionals. There are also limited opportunities in the charitable and voluntary sector, often supporting families with additional needs.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) - Jobs
• NHS Jobs - jobs and trainee positions in England and Wales.
• NHSScotland Jobs
• Northern Ireland Health & Social Care Jobs (HSCNI)
• local authority websites.

Specialist health and social care recruitment agencies such as Sanctuary Personnel also handle vacancies for experienced health visitors.

Professional development

You must remain registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) and complete revalidation every three years. This involves completing at least 450 hours of registered practice and 35 hours of continuing professional development (CPD), aligned to the NMC SCPHN Standards of Proficiency, including 20 hours of participatory learning.

CPD can include attending conferences or seminars, completing e-learning or further study, and personal research. The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) offers accredited CPD programmes, online modules, conferences and networking events, all of which can be logged and reflected on as part of the revalidation process.

Your local trust will usually provide training to support your development in areas such as child protection, safeguarding, positive parenting, nutrition, immunisation, postnatal depression and domestic abuse.

Following a period of preceptorship many health visitors will be practising at an advanced level. Some will pursue further postgraduate studies (including doctoral degrees), research projects or contribute to service quality improvement initiatives within public health or community nursing.

Career prospects

Many health visitors remain in frontline roles, building long-term relationships with families and communities. However, there are also opportunities to progress into specialist, management, education or research roles.

You may choose to become a specialist health visitor, for example in perinatal and infant mental health, safeguarding or supporting children with complex needs. This can involve specialist service planning and multi-agency collaboration.

You could also progress into team leadership, clinical supervision or service management roles, with leadership development programmes available through the NHS Leadership Academy. Depending on your background, you may move into advanced practice, consultant, public health or strategic policy roles within local authorities, the NHS or national organisations.

Experienced practitioners may also work in education, research or international health and voluntary sectors.